


Truce

by TheObsessedAuthor



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Flashbacks, Humor, Poor Loki, VIVID flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-30 03:06:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheObsessedAuthor/pseuds/TheObsessedAuthor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki decides to visit Jane. Thor finds out, flips his shit, and everyone comes away feeling mildly-to-severely confused.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pizza Delivery

"Fifty-two thirty... fifty-two forty...fifty-two fifty!" Jane Foster handed the pizza deliveryman his payment. "And a ten buck tip. Sorry about the long drive out here."

The dark-haired man accepted the money with a nod and held her gaze longer than strictly necessary.  Jane closed the door and shuddered- the guy gave her the creeps for some reason. "GUYS! PIZZA'S HERE!"

Darcy and Erik stampeded into the dining room as Jane maneuvered the stack of boxes onto the small oak table that served as their main meeting place. She frowned. "Where's Thor?"

Darcy shrugged, gingerly pulling away a slice of Veggie Delite with painstakingly manicured fingernails. "Avengers business, I suppose. He said to tell you 'farewell.' Also something about breakfast pastries." She took a bite of her food. Erik piled a plate high with The Carnivore Special and headed into the living room to watch football.

Jane sighed and settled into the couch. Thor had been away recently- running (flying) between Asgard and Earth, the house and Stark Tower.  _Oh well,_ she thought;  _that's the downside of dating a god- long hours._

*

Loki Laufeyson, also known as the God of Lies and Mischief, pulled out of the driveway, still in his deliveryman disguise. The real deliveryman lay unconscious in the trunk.

With a minuscule amount of effort, he morphed back into his preferred form, blinking erratically as his facial features shifted minutely.

Mortals were so easily deceived.

*

Thor touched down at Stark Tower in a whirlwind of dust and the acrid scent  of lightning. He ran inside to where Fury was holding an emergency meeting.

The Director stood at the head of a long table, around which the other Avengers were seated. He looked extremely agitated.

"Loki hasn't been spotted in the city. He hasn't messed anything up. No one has reported any odd goings-ons. He's not doing ANYTHING!"

Tony reclined in his chair, a (no doubt) highly alcoholic beverage held loosely in one hand. "So what? Isn't that  _good?_ " His words were slightly slurred.

Fury audibly ground his teeth. "We  _know_ he's here somewhere. Why would he be here at all if not to cause complete and utter havoc?"

"Complete AND utter. This must be serious," Tony stage-whispered.

Clint smirked. "Maybe he's here for the holidays."

Natasha looked at him. "What holiday? Halloween?"

"Sure, if it means he can scare the bejeezus out of a few civilians."

Bruce snorted. "It's September, genius. Halloween isn't for a month and a half."

Clint was unperturbed. "Maybe he needs time to decorate, or something."

Thor frowned.

*

Loki smiled as he wiped the deliveryman's memory and sent him tottering back to his car. (The deliveryman would eventually regain full use of his motor controls, drive to his girlfriend's house, and convince her to move away with him.) He had all he needed now- Thor was conveniently gone, Jane's location was revealed. A few other mortals were present, yes, but they were easily taken care of.

_Easily taken care of._

For some reason, an ancient memory sprang to Loki's mind.

*

_A young Loki slumped outside Thor's bedroom, tears running down his face and dripping off his chin as he listened to the conversation within. He could imagine the scene inside: Sif and Volstagg sitting on the bed, Sif being completely indifferent and Volstagg munching on something or other; Fandral and Thor in the center of the room, arguing._

_"He's just dead weight! He can't even keep up with us!" Something shattered against the wall, something thrown in anger. Loki winced at the blatant condescension in Fandral's tone._

_Thor's voice boomed out over Fandral's. "We're not leaving him here! Besides, mother bade I look after him."  
_

_Loki clenched his tiny fists. 'Look after him?' He could take care of_ himself!

_Fandral laughed. "He's easily taken care of- just lock him in a closet or something while we're gone. He won't get up to anything in_ there _."_

_Volstagg belched. "You know, he'd just magic the door open- and you'd wake up in a bed full of snakes,_   _again_ _." Sif sniggered._

_Something else smashed against the wall. The bed creaked, and Sif shouted in annoyance. "HEY!"_

_Thor growled. Fandral squeaked, and Loki imagined Thor hoisting him up by his collar. "If Loki doesn't go,_ I _don't go- and he is not 'easily taken care of,' unless you want to go through me first." Another squeak from Fandral._

_Volstagg (ever the peacemaker, Loki thought sarcastically) made a soothing noise. "Okay, okay, Loki comes with. Could you let Fandral breathe, now?"_

*

Loki came back to the present with a start. His fingers were curled into vicious claws, and when he unfurled his hands he could see crescents of blood welling to the surface where his wicked fingernails had punctured his skin. He watched the blood run down his wrist for a few seconds, in morbid contemplation.

_Easily taken care of._

He waved a hand and the skin closed, the blood vanishing. No time for memories, now- he had work to do.


	2. Such Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane is in danger, Thor is oblivious, and Loki had a really shitty childhood.

The Avengers were scattered around the lab, chatting about Loki. Tony, still slightly drunk, didn't see a problem. "He does something bad, we stop him. If he hasn't  _done_  anything yet, it's illegal to arrest him."

Natasha laughed scornfully. "Like laws have ever influenced the decisions of the Great Tony Stark."

"Besides, we don't even know where he  _is!_ " Steve was pacing restlessly, ignoring Tony's murmurs of ' _relaaaaaax.'_  "We can't let him harm any innocent civilians..."

Thor was poking through Tony's cabinets, but he perked up indignantly at Steve's apprehension. "My brother would not do such a thing!"

Bruce stared at him. "You  _do_  remember him trying to take over the world a few months ago, right?"

Thor shrugged. "He apologized."

"He. Is. The. God. Of. Freaking.  _LIES_ ," Clint yelled. "Why didn't you, I don't know,  _lock him up_  or something?"

Thor coughed, his bearded cheeks reddening. "We did."

Tony grinned.

*

Jane scowled. It was her turn to do the dishes, and Darcy and Erik had apparently been squirreling away their dirty plates around the house in anticipation. Piles of food-splattered dinnerware leaned haphazardly on the counters. She sighed and plunged her hands into a sink full of soapy water. Might as well get it over with.

A low thump sounded from the roof. Jane glanced upward, frowning. Thor usually made much more noise than that- but who else could it be?

She shrugged and continued scouring plates. It must be Thor.

*

Loki cursed. His normally soundless teleportation had been hindered by an inconveniently placed satellite dish. He paused and listened  for any sign that the mortals inside had heard him. No sudden commotion. A man's voice was yelling at something- at a television set, he deduced. Such anger over such a small thing.

Such anger. For no reason at all.

He was suddenly- reluctantly- swept away as yet another unwanted memory surfaced.

*

 _Young Loki sat on his bed, hunched over a book of spells and trying desperately to ignore the enormously angry Allfather pacing the room. Odin was lecturing Loki harshly on something that was hardly his fault. Loki's eyes were red and threatened to overflow, but he wouldn't let them. His tears would be just another thing wrong with him, another flaw, another weakness._ Thor _never cried._

_Odin finished his rant and headed for the door. Loki breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. Odin paused, the turned and strode back to the bed, ripping the spellbook from Loki's pale hands. "And I'll take THAT!" Then he stomped out, crushing the small grimoire in his massive scarred fist.  
_

_Loki waited until the door slammed shut, and he could hear his father's retreating footsteps, to turn and bury his face in his pillow. His whole body shook as he released his frustration and despair, unwittingly transforming his pillow into a large cobra. He hiccuped and picked it up, watching it wind up his arm and stare at him with its odd reptilian eyes._

_The door creaked, and a brawny teenager peeked in. Loki had his back to him, but he could tell it was Thor- the sickening mix of compassion and curiosity emanating from him was unmistakable._

_Thor came in and sat next to Loki on his bed, pulling him into a hug. Loki rubbed angrily at his eyes, turning the snake to ashes with a savage twist of his hand. "It wasn't my_ fault _, Thor- it just HAPPENED!"_

 _Thor combed his fingers soothingly through Loki's shoulder-length ebony hair. "I know... but inhaling a goblet full of newts_ is _an understandable reason for anger."_

 _Loki glared at him. "He was the one who made me angry in the first place! I didn't_ try _to make them appear in his wine!"_

_Thor hugged him tighter. "I know. Father is not always reasonable, brother."_

_Loki sniffed, curling against the solid comfort of his brother. "I thought he was going to_ strike _me."_

 _Thor stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "I will_ always _protect you, Loki. It will be okay."_

*

Jane rolled her eyes as Erik shouted furiously at a random referee. "Are you KIDDING me? That punt was TWO FEET WIDE! This guy is BLIND!"

She smiled and shouted a reply, to be heard over the television. "He must've left his seeing-eye dog at home!"

Eric snorted and muttered something that sounded like agreement. Jane turned to put away a stack of clean plates- and nearly dropped them.

Loki stood there in the kitchen, towering over her, brandishing the scepter threateningly. "Let's not be difficult," he breathed, smiling maliciously. Jane glanced towards the living room. Erik was unaware of her predicament- the television was so loud she doubted he could hear much else- and she guessed if she tried to alert him she'd be dead before she could form the words.

Loki read her acceptance of the inevitable- straight back hunching slightly, wide eyes growing compliant, shoulders dropping- with a flicker of surprise: she was not entirely incapable of reason, then.

He smiled again- his teeth looked like vampire fangs, Jane thought- and motioned to a chair. "This won't take long."


	3. Trust Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane swallows a lot. Not in a dirty way, you sickos. She's just nervous. I wonder why?

Thor had found what he was looking for in Tony's cabinets, and now sat contentedly shoving Pop-Tarts into his mouth. Clint and Bruce had taken bets on how many boxes he could shovel down before he threw up. Natasha and Steve had retired to bed, and Tony sat tinkering on an updated version of the Iron Man suit, bouncing  suggestions off Bruce. "Grenades?"

"Too messy. Impractical."

"Lasers?"

"You already have lasers."

"Bigger lasers. Better ones." Tony pouted at the quiet scientist, flicking a bolt at his head. "What, then?"

Thor sat up suddenly, and the bolt hit one of his ridiculous shoulder plates, clattering off the chain and rolling under the table. A Pop-Tart wrapper floated to the ground.

Clint whooped. "Twenty-three! I was closest, I win!" He turned to Bruce. "Pay up, Shrek."

Bruce shushed him. "Thor? Are you okay?" The God of Thunder seemed pale.

Clint scoffed. "Of course he's not okay, he's gonna hurl!"

Thor shook his head. "I must postpone my snack- I fear Jane Foster is in danger."

Tony looked up, interested. "Jane?"

Bruce frowned. "Danger?"

Clint gaped, dumbfounded. " _Snack?"_

*

Jane silently set down the stack of plates and moved slowly over to the proffered chair. She sat hesitantly. "You're Loki."

Loki pretended to clap. "So I am."

She swallowed nervously. "Why do you want me to sit?"

Loki tilted his head to the side, thinking. "I find it easier to aim when the target isn't trying to run away." He smirked, hefting the scepter.

 _Oh God, oh God._  Jane's mouth moved without her consent. "I suppose you want the stereotypical victim's conversation?"  _Damnit, Jane, this is NOT the time to be a smartass..._

Her question gave him pause. "To what are you referring?"

Jane shrugged, looking infinitely more relaxed than she felt. "You know, 'why me,' 'what did I ever do to you,' 'what are you going to do to me,' 'oh God please don't kill me.' Standard captive stuff."  _Shut up shut up shut up!_

Loki actually gave a small, genuine smile at that. Jane thought- with no little shock- he was actually quite handsome, when he wasn't trying to kill you.

Which, she reasoned, he probably was.

"I'm assuming you already know the answers to said questions?" Loki's soft, silky voice caught Jane off guard, and she shuddered. Loki raised an eyebrow.

"W-well, to the first I'd say you chose me because of my relationship with your brother." She swallowed again. "Although, really, I'm flattered at all of the attention you Norse gods seem to give me."

Loki chuckled quietly. "That answers the second question too, I suppose. What of the third?"

Jane tried valiantly to keep the terror out of her voice. "Probably kill me. With that." She nodded at the scepter.

Loki gave an odd little laugh, somehow darker than his earlier one. "Perceptive, aren't we?" He lifted the scepter.

Jane closed her eyes, waiting. "I like to think so."

Loki studied her face silently. Blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, a few stray strands tucked behind one ear. A slightly tanned, heart-shaped face held high, in such a way as to suggest that if she were going to die, she'd do so with dignity. One movement ruined the image- her chin trembled, betraying her fear.

"Why you, indeed," Loki murmured. She looked completely ordinary in every way.

Another memory tugged at him. He tried to push it away- this was honestly the  _worst_ possible time to be distracted- but it seized him, stronger than the others, and dragged him back to his childhood.

*

_"Why me?" Young Loki sobbed brokenly in Thor's embrace. The boys were seated  on Thor's bed, the owner of which was frantically trying to calm Loki down- Thor was more than mildly alarmed at how, due to Loki's high emotions, his furniture kept transforming into venomous animals._

_"Loki, it's okay. Loki, it was an accident. I'm sure it was nothing."_

_Loki stared blankly at him, his brilliant jade eyes wide and full of pain. "Nothing? I turned_ blue _, Thor! I... I'm a m-MONSTER!"_

_"It... it was just a trick of the light."_

_"NO, Thor!" Loki shrugged off Thor's arms and gestured at a viper (previously Thor's bedside table) that was slithering around on the floor. "_ Look _." He twisted his hands suddenly, and the snake literally_ froze, _a crackling sheet of ice glazing over its long body. Loki flexed his fingers, and the creature shattered into a hundred icy fragments. He stared at his hand- his previously snow-pale hands were now an unmistakable dark blue, fading quickly back to its usual pallid tone._

_Thor stared, too- he couldn't help it. Then he hugged Loki again. "It doesn't matter what you are, Loki. You will always be my brother."_

*

Loki gasped as he returned to present time. He was curled, embarrassingly, on the tiny kitchen floor, shaking slightly. He noted, with a sort of detached amusement, that the linoleum tiles around him were frozen solid, and crusted over with a thick sheet of frost on top of that. At the same moment he realized that the mortal, Jane Foster, was leaning over him, concern radiating from her delicate features. "All you all right?"

Loki stared at her. "Why have you not escaped?"

Jane frowned worriedly at him. "Because you were having a panic attack in my  _kitchen_ , you weren't  _breathing_ , and now you look like you've seen a ghost!" She glanced down at the floor, as if noticing the ice for the first time. "That's odd."

Loki was, to say the least, extremely confused. "Then... why have you not at least alerted your colleagues?" He could still hear the television in the next room, and there was no sign of the other female.

Jane shrugged nonchalantly- honestly, it hadn't even occurred to her, once she fell into protective mode.  _That was stupid of me._ "Erik's watching football and Darcy's texting her boyfriend. If I interrupted either, they could tear my head off." She glanced at Loki.  _And you could too, I suppose, quite a bit more literally._

Loki shook his head in wonder. "I see why Thor likes you- you're just like him." He stood and waved a hand- the frost disappeared.

Jane smiled shakily, her fear returning once her concern for the god's health drained away. He was fine- and still able to rip her apart with his bare hands. "How so?"

Loki gazed at her- or through her, it seemed. "You trust people- more than is good for you." He held out his hand- the scepter glowed and flew into his waiting palm. Jane took a step back. Loki didn't seem to notice, and kept talking, examining the scepter as he did so. "He trusts people, too. He trusts  _me_. Or he did. I don't know why-  _I_ don't even trust me." Loki took a step towards Jane, then turned and collapsed into the chair she had previously occupied. He went on talking, running his long, pale fingers across the scepter's smooth surface. "He believes there's good in everyone." He looked up at Jane suddenly, intensely, his emerald gaze burning. "Even when there's  _not_."

He traced along her neck with the scepter's blade. "You do, as well. That's why you didn't run. You don't think I  _can_ kill you...that I'm not  _strong_ enough..."

Jane felt a bizarre mix of pity and horror as the blade moved along her throat and caressed her jugular, a strange stab of compassion for the dejected-looking creature sitting in her chair. "I think you can. You  _are_ a god, after all- you can do whatever you like."  _Even kill me, but I really wish you wouldn't._

Loki smiled slightly. "I  _do_ tend to do what I wish..."

The scepter's sharp edge strayed from her face. Jane let out a small breath- she had been afraid he was going to slit her throat. He seemed to be deep in thought, speaking quietly, indistinctly, in a language she  _knew_ wasn't of Earth. The football game continued in the next room. Jane slowly backed up to the counter and reached behind her, into a cabinet.

Loki was instantly on his feet, the scepter digging into Jane's throat. " _What are you_ doing _,"_ he hissed, his eyes dangerously- psychotically- aflame. Jane attempted to conceal her complete terror- he certainly  _looked_ like the God of Evil.

"I thought I would make us some hot cocoa," she said, congratulating herself on managing a full sentence. Her instincts screamed at her to  _not move,_ comparing Loki to a snake, striking if he detected motion. She brushed the notion aside, but a small voice in the back of her head argued that he  _did_ have the same hypnotizing glare, the same venom, the same speed. Jane lowered her hands from the cabinet, showing him the two coffee mugs. "O-okay?"

Loki cocked his head, still pressing the weapon up under her chin. "What is 'cocoa'?"

Jane knew from Thor that most Aesir were ignorant of human customs, so she wasn't surprised at Loki's reluctance. She swallowed, feeling a thin trickle of blood run down her neck. "It's a chocolatey drink that we- ah-"  _what had Thor called us?-_ "Midgardians enjoy. I thought you might like some."

Loki glared at her suspiciously, then lowered the scepter, shaking his head. " _Exactly_ like Thor."


	4. Be Polite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor comes home.

Jane poured Loki a mug of the prepared cocoa. They sat in the kitchen, the others still unaware of the situation. Jane's pulse was slowing, though- surprisingly, although it felt like longer, Loki had only been in the tiny kitchen for about ten minutes.

Loki sniffed the drink, then looked at her. "Did you poison it?"

"No." Being Loki, Jane supposed he was right to be paranoid. He wasn't exactly a favorite of the Aesir, or the humans... or anyone, really.

"What are these, then?" He prodded a bobbing white  _thing_ with his finger.

"Marshmallows. Try one, they're good."

Loki had just taken his first sip when a loud  _thump_ sounded from the roof. Erik called from the next room. "Jane, your boyfriend's here- and with a face like thunder, I might add. Hah, thunder. I should have my own show."

Jane glanced at Loki, who had gone white. He stared back at her,  _through_ her. "I- I have to go," he choked out. "He must know why I came- what I was going to do-"

Jane fought down a shudder and reached across the small table, covering his hand with her own. "Calm down. I'm sure I can reason with him." Loki stared blankly at her, then at her small hand grasping his. He opened his mouth to speak-

-and Thor was there, glaring at Loki with such a fury that he flinched.

Jane sat calmly back in her chair, sipping her cocoa. "Hello, Thor. I saved some pizza for you in the fridge, your brother dropped by for a visit, and there's more cocoa on the stove if you want some. Oh, and you have  _got_ to start remembering to empty your jeans' pockets before you do laundry, or Darcy is going to strangle you."

Both Norse deities stared at her. She set down her cup. "What?"

Thor seemed to be at a loss for words. "How- why is...has he-" he brandished Mjolnir at Loki, who set his cup down nervously- "hurt you at all?"

"Of course not," Jane lied smoothly, but her hand automatically rose to touch the long scratch across her throat. It didn't even hurt any more- and she'd hurt herself worse  _baking_ , honestly- but Loki had caused it, Loki had hurt her, Loki had touched her. She tried to obscure the motion by brushing back a stray wisp of hair, but it was too late.

With a roar Thor lifted his hammer and brought it down on top of Loki. The hammer went straight through him, and with a slight sizzle the mirage evaporated. Thor stumbled, caught off-balance by his wild swing. Loki appeared behind him and waved his hands, and a faintly green light appeared around Thor, suspending him in midair. Thor growled. "Loki, what have you DONE?" 

Jane stepped up in front of Loki, her hands on her hips. She looked almost comically small compared to Thor. "DON'T you start! For all you know, I got  _this_ ," she gestured to the thin line of blood on her throat, "all on my own. You CANNOT barge into MY HOUSE and start swinging HAMMERS at my GUEST!"

Thor choked with rage. "GUEST? HE COULD KILL YOU, JANE!"

"SO COULD  _YOU_!" Jane yelled. "That doesn't mean you WILL!"

Thor glared at her for a long moment, then looked away. Jane turned to Loki. "Please set him down. He won't attack you." She narrowed her eyes at Thor. "WILL  you?"

"No, my lady."

Loki glanced at Jane. "Do you believe him?"

Jane poured another cup of hot chocolate for Thor. "You're the God of Lies and you're asking if I believe  _him?_ "

Loki frowned, but set Thor on his feet. The green light faded, and Loki let his arms drop to his sides. Thor took a seat and accepted the cocoa from Jane. "Brother."

"Thor." Loki eyed him edgily, inching towards the door. Darcy chose this moment to wander in.

"Hey, Thor." She noticed Loki. "Who the hell are you? Oooh, cocoa! Where'd you put the cups, Jane?" She immediately busied herself opening every cabinet door in the room.

Loki frowned quizzically at Darcy. This human seemed to just accept his presence- of course, she didn't know who he was.

Jane remedied that. "Darcy, this is Loki. Loki, Darcy."

Darcy paused her rummaging for cups, her eyes widening. "The HELL-" She whipped out a small device and aimed it at Loki. Light flashed across his skin interestingly for a few seconds.

Darcy stood openmouthed, eyes as big as saucers. "What? It worked on  _Thor!_ "

Jane was outraged. "That's because he was  _mortal,_ Darcy! You have to stop tasing every Norse god you meet!"

Darcy was still transfixed, her gaze glued to Loki. "If I shot you, would you be hurt?"

Loki offered a tentative smile. "Not really- and I could stop the bullets easily."

"Can I try?"

"DARCY!"

"Whaaaat?"

Thor sighed and took a long sip of hot chocolate. Jane was furious. "Loki is my GUEST. You CANNOT SHOOT HIM!"

Erik sauntered in from the living room. "Shoot who?"

Both Norse gods looked at him. He promptly fainted. Thor poured himself more cocoa, then handed the pot to Loki. "I feel that this night will be a long one."

Loki reluctantly accepted the pot, topping off his own mug. "You may be right."

Darcy stared at the two brothers sitting side by side. "Oh. My. Gods," she breathed finally. "This is so  _totally_ going on Facebook. Smile!"

 

Miles away at Stark Tower, Tony was browsing Facebook when he fell off his chair laughing, accidentally hit a line of buttons, and caused the eighth largest power outage in human history.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any ideas for other Avengers fics, send them in and i'll try to fill them!


End file.
